9 slides from Borrell Associates that details the political ad opportunity in 2018

2018 — a year loaded with elections — will be an opportunity for local media companies to capitalize on political-ad buyers who are seeking trusted sources, said Gordon Borrell, CEO of Borrell Associates, on a webinar on Tuesday.

The webinar, offered through the Local Media Association detailed research his firm has done around political spending in 2018 and how media companies can capture those dollars.

First off, there are a lot of political dollars at stake next year. Like $8.5 billion of them.

And there are a lot of races up for grabs. A lot. To date, 2,000 people have thrown their names in the ring.

State races will be significant when it comes to spending. Specifically, State Senate.

Broadcast, online and newspapers seem to be the leading getters for the dollars on the State Senate side of things.

But local races will hold their own. Ballot issues are popping off this chart.

You really should understand PACS (Political Action Committees). There are a lot of groups and a ton of dollars.

Understanding how the spending changes for PACs from market to market is important. It really talks to the opportunity in your state and region.

How do you tap into all of this? A few very useful bullets from Spot-On to make the process of online political buying a little easier.